Do you enjoy being kicked in the danglers? If so, read this sentence: Diner Ross Steakhouse at Linq will close after its final service on Sept. 26, 2026. The venue’s 99 Prince Bar and Glitterloft lounge will close as well.
Also known as today’s things we didn’t see coming despite having chatted with the restaurant’s owner, Ross Mollison, literally 30 minutes before receiving that news in our e-mail in-box.
Our brain is sort of running out of bandwidth for WTF, but we’ll slog through this story anyway.
Dear Ross, don’t read this story until you’ve had some time to grieve.
Diner Ross Steakhouse was originally just Diner Ross. The rebrand was a pretty good indication it wasn’t meeting expectations.
Diner Ross was the sister restaurant to “DiscoShow.” Both opened on Sept. 7, 2024.
“DiscoShow” closed on Jan. 3, 2026.
Both “DiscoShow” and Diner Ross, along with the venue’s 99 Prince Bar and Glitterloft, cost an estimated $40 million to build, a financial partnership between Caesars Entertainment and Mollison’s Spiegelworld.
Spiegelworld also does “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace, “Atomic Saloon” at Venetian and “The Party,” a dinner show at Superfrico restaurant inside Cosmopolitan, as well as the Ski Lodge cocktail bar, also at Cosmo.
We quite liked Diner Ross Steakhouse. According to Spiegelworld, it was awarded ‘Best New Vegas Restaurant’ by Eater in 2024 and Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence in 2026.
Here’s an awkward walk-through shortly after Diner Ross opened. (We hope our friend Perez Hilton is doing better, by the way.)
The lights came up at Diner Ross (fire alarm, no fire), so here’s a look around including a nuanced, 15-second interview with the new restaurant’s lovely executive chef, Anna Altieri. @TheLinq #DiscoShow @Spiegelworld @ThePerezHilton pic.twitter.com/ZK1acZpWCU
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 8, 2024
The restaurant was conceived as a 1970s New York diner, complete with retro decor, disco fries and an entrance designed to feel like a slightly sketchy New York subway station.
Diner Ross and “DiscoShow,” along with the venue’s bars—built the bones of Imperial Palace’s sportsbook—were sort of designed to work together. After “DiscoShow” ticket sales lagged (it was billed as a show, but was more of a disco dance party), it was humanely put down, so Diner Ross Steakhouse was left to fend for itself.
They announced a new executive chef in June 2026.
New top chef at Diner Ross Steakhouse at Linq. He’s got chops. pic.twitter.com/Z9GSughL0q
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) June 25, 2026
Then came a drop in tourism, largely due to geo-political boneheadery.
Then came a slow, hot summer.
The closure of Diner Ross Steakhouse on the heels of the closure of “DiscoShow” leaves the future of this unique venue a little murky.
We texted Ross Mollison to ask why he didn’t mention the closure of Diner Ross Steakhouse during our chat. We quickly realized it’s because he’s genuinely broken up about it. Which made us feel like a special kind of idiot for light-heartedly joke about adding chicken parm to the restaurant’s menu to help turn things around. We didn’t know it was closing at that juncture, cut us some slack.
It’s so easy to armchair quarterback business decisions. It’s also easy to forget there are people who invest not only their money but also their passion into projects like this.
“Absinthe” was a big swing that paid off, but many doubted its prospects when it opened.
Everyone bemoans the fact there’s nothing new or original going on in Las Vegas, but “DiscoShow,” Diner Ross, 99 Prince Bar and Glitterloft were that. Original.
Visitors didn’t know what to make of “DiscoShow.” We blame a culture increasingly distracted by social media and sports while civic engagement and critical thinking have been cast aside like canceled decks of playing cards.
Originality is harder to market than a cookie-cutter venue. And often even cookie-cutter venues struggle on The Strip (see also Bottled Blonde).
All this feels like salt in Mollison’s wounds. His show, “The Hook,” just closed (Sep. 6, 2026) at Caesars Atlantic City after 1,000 performances. “The Hook,” too, cost a reported $40 million, another Caesars/Spiegelworld collaboration.
Mollison may fully invest himself emotionally in his ventures, but he’s also not shy about taking action to stop the bleeding.
We’re nervous about “Atomic Saloon” given the current entertainment landscape in Las Vegas (“Mad Apple” has closed at New York-New York, “Awakening” closes at Wynn Las Vegas on Oct. 10, 2026), but Mollison assures it’s making a modest amount of money, even during our hot, slow summer.
As for what’s next at Linq, Mollison and his Spiegelworld team are never lacking in creative ideas.
Everyone’s scratching their heads about where Las Vegas entertainment is headed at the moment. It’s all about the aforementioned orb and headliners and sporting events.
That leaves little room for variety acts and bawdy humor, at least for shows that aren’t “Absinthe,” which continues to print money (ditto Superfrico), presumably enough to pay for all the other Spiegelworld endeavors that aren’t faring as well.
There’s still a little time to swing by Diner Ross Steakhouse at Linq before it closes on Sep. 26.
As always, our heart goes out to the team that made this place so weird and wonderful.
Dining and Cooking